Improvement in sewing-machines



3 SheetsSheet 3.

J B.- WOODRUFF.

Sewlng Machme Patented Dec. 23, 1856.

. 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. B. WOODRUFR Sewing Machine.

Patented Dec. 23, 1856.

3 Sheets--Sheet 1. 1.. B. WOODRUFF.

Sewing Machine.

No. 16,321. Patented Dec. 23, 1856.

lllmrnn rames ATENT @rrrcn.

JEROME B. XVOODBUFF, OF XVASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 16,321, dated December 23, 1

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JEROME B. WooDRU FF, of Washington city and District of Columbia, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification.

Figure 1 represents a view in perspective. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, showing the mechanism beneath the plate or table. 3 is a side view of the shuttle-race, with afragment of the plate in section with the shuttle-driver attached. shuttle-driver reversed to exhibit itsinterior. Figs. ,5, 6, 7 are views of the shuttle, showing its exterior and interior. Fig. 8 is. a view in perspective of the feed mechanism detached for the purpose of showing itsconstruction more clearly. Fig. 8 is a detached view of the feed mechanism, showing the loop-guide and needle-thread in position while the needle is at its highest point. Fig. 10-is.a detached view of the'sliding feed-bar.

My invention consists, first, in'a rigid feed bar without either vertical or lateral motion, and sliding back and forth in ways or guides in ahorizontal plane; also, in the arrangement of a series of pins through "which the needlethread is laced in order to give the required tension to correspond with the shuttlerthread without affecting-its twist also, in constructing the needle-bar for sewing-machines in the form of a segment of a circle, operating the shuttle-driver by one end direct and carrying the needle by the other end, said bar forming the are of a circle of which the"point of sus pension is the center; also, in the construction of a slotted shuttle-driver so arranged and operated that while the needle is being with-. drawn from the c oth the shuttle incased in the bowl of the driver will have passed through the loop of the needle-thread about the time the eye of the needle appears above the surface of the plate or table, still" continuing its motion forward to complete the stitch formed by the interlacing of the two threads; also, in carrying the shuttle back and forth by means of a single pin, so that the thread may pass over both the point and heel of the shuttle without obstruction, the spring to which the pin is secured and by which it is operated serving also to hold the shuttle against which Fig. i is a perspective view of the- ].it bears to the face of the race, so that the ing a missing of stitches.

Like letters indicate similar parts in all the figures. V

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improved sewing-machine, I will proceed to describe the same in detail.

upon which the material to be sewed is placed. To'the rear side of this plate A is firmly secured a circular bar, 13, its front end extending over and nearly to the surface of the plate. 5 To the front end of this bar B is arranged the adjustable holder D, the bar B having guides '6 formed on its surface, corresponding to the sides 0 of the holder The holder I) may be raised and lowered and retained in position to beneath the step 8 on its lower end by means 4 of a thumb-nut, -f, or in any other convenient ana'nner; I V y To the adjustable-holder D is pivoted a lever,E, the lower end of which extends through a suitable opening formed in the sliding feedbar 9, or is pivoted thereto, by which lever the sliding feed-bar g is operated to move the material being sewed along. sliding feed-bar g which constantly rests upon the material and moves it forward is curved or inclined toward the needle, so that when it is moved backward or from the-needle it will slide smoothly over the surface of the material, and when moved forward or toward the needle the edge i presents sufficient resistance to move the material along the distance required for the length of the stitch, which distance is regulated by the set-screw d, passing through the lever E between its pivot and lower end. The lever E, above its pivot, is formed into an incline plane, a, by which incline the lower end is thrown, by the cam m,in the upward motion of the needle-bar,to its extreme forward position, as shown in Fig. 1, previous to orat the same time the-stitch just taken is being completed. This lever E is operated alternately by the cam m and incline plane n,-formed on the needle-bar F. In the downward stroke of the needle-bar, and while it strikes against the set'screw d, throwing the lower end of the lever E, and carrying thereneedle-thread may not pass beneath it, caus- A in the annexed drawings represents a table I or plate to which the mechanism is secured, and

suit the different thicknesses of material placed That part of the the needle is through the material, the incline 'forward for the succeeding stitch.

so, and vibrates in. the arc of its circle.

against the incline a on the lever B, throwing its lower end, by which the sliding feed-bar g is moved, to its extreme forward position toward the needle, the feed-bar g carrying the material In the annexed drawings the material for the succeeding stitch is fed before the last preceding stitch is complete and while the two threads are correspond with the shuttle'thread without at footing its twist. H

.The spool G,from wl1ich the needle receives itssupply of-thread, is'placed in any conven-' ient position upon the needlebar F, and simply held sufficient to prevent paying off its thread faster than required. The thread is then passed through guide-loops t and laced through any desired number of the pins r to give the proper tension, thence through an eye, 12, near the end of the needle-bar, and thence through the eye of the needle, when it is in readiness for operation. F is also a segment of a circle, and is pivoted at its center a, so as to be balanced, or nearly To the frontend of the bar F is secured the needle by means ofa loop and nut, or'iirany other convenient manner, while to thelower end of this bar, and beneath the plate, islfitted a pin, 0, to the slot P in the shuttle-driver M, by which said shuttle-driver is operated in harmony with the other mechanism. The required rangeof motion maybe given to the needlebar by means of a connecting-rod, I, and balance-wheel WV, as in the present instance, or in any other convenient manner.

From the lower side of the plate A extends the shuttle-race J, to the lower end of which is secured the slotted shuttle-driver M. This shuttle-driver is operated by means of the pin 0 in the lower end of the needle-bar F, work ing in the slot P. When the shuttle-driver is at its extreme backward position, as seen in Fig. 3, the needle is through the material and the pin 0 has passed from the straight part of the slot P and entered the curve near the lower end of the driver. Vhen the needle has risen sufficient to form a loop for the point of the shuttle to enter, the shuttle-driver has moved forward, so as to bring the point of the shuttle between the needle and its thread, and then, while the needle is rising to the surface of the plate, or thereabout, the shuttle-driver, by means 'of the .pin 0, passing from the curved to the straight part of the slot P, carries the shuttle through-the loop of the needle-thread, when its speed commences and continues to decrease until it stops simultaneously with the The needle-bar needle, by which means the stitch is drawn into the body of the material by the tightening of the two threads at the same time. A straight slot may be used, but a curved one is found preferable, because a less motion of the shuttledriver is required to pass the shuttle through the loop of the needlethread in its proper time.

On the bowl of the shuttle-driver is placed a spring, m, to which spring is secured a pin, Z, for the purpose of holding in position and carrying-back and forth the shuttle. This pin Z passes through an eye or opening in the bowl of the driver, as shown in Fig. 4, and enters a corresponding eye formed in and near the point of the shuttle. To withdraw the pin fromlthe eye I) of the shuttle to permit the free passage of the needle-thread over the shuttle, a cam, 1), projects downward from the plate A, which cam 12 catches beneath the curved end of the spring :0, raising it suificient to permit the needle-thread topass beneath the end of this pin Z, when the spring, by the con tinned forward motion of the driver, passes oii the cam p, allowing the pin l to re-enter the eye 12 in the shuttle, in order to hold it in position within the bowl of the driver in its backward as well as forward motion. The spring a9 passes beneath the cam p in its backward motion, instead of over it. By this arrangement it will be seen that the shuttle is carried back and forth by a single pin, leaving both thepoint l l l l beneath the needle, a spring. 2, is arranged on its inner side, and bearing against the holder D, throwing off the lower end of the guidebar L, to which the springs are attached, carrying between said springs the loose thread formed by the descent of the needle. arrangementtheloose loop of the needle-thread is always guided in one direction by the thread being drawn between the springs 7c during the time the stitch is being completed and drawn 'from between the springs by the downward motion of the needle in the succeeding stitch. Having-thus fully described my improved sewing-machine, what I claim therein as new,

and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The construction of afeed-bar, g, sliding in a dovetailor slotted guide and moved by alever, E, connected with the feed-bar g by a swivel-joint or its equivalent, so as always to move the feed-bar g in a plane with the material being sewed, the feed-bar 9 being moved back the distance required for the length of the stitch while the needle is in the material,

By this 7 and when the needle is withdrawn is moved forward, carrying the material therewith.

2. The arrangement of a series of pins through which the needle-thread is laced for the purpose of giving auniformity of tension without affecting its twist, or their equivalent.

3. I am aware that needlebars have been made to vibrate in the arc of a circle, which I do not claim; but I do claim a balanced needle-bar for sewing-machines, when constructed in the form of a segment of a circle, operating the shuttle-driver by one end direct and carrying the needle by the other end, when the whole of said bar forms the arc of a circle of which the point of suspension is the center, as described.

4. A slotted shuttle-driver, the same being operated direct from the needle-bar, and so arranged that the shuttle may pass through the loop of the needle-thread in its proper time, gradually decreasing its speed and stop ping at or about the same time with the needle, as described, or its equivalent.

5. I do not claim carrying the shuttle back and forth by two pinsone at the heel and one at the pointindependent of a shuttle-carrier, for this has been done by Messrs. Bl'odgett & Lerow, and patented to them; butI do claim carrying the shuttle back and forth by a single pin, as herein described.

JEROME B. YVOODRUFF.

\Vitnessesr J. S. BRowN, GEORGE XV. ADAMS. 

